


My Mother’s Eyes

by ALittleBirdieToldMeASecret



Series: Undertale Shorts [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Eye Injury, Fluff, Gasters morally grey and not super relevant, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Kidnapping (Sort of), Trauma, Underfell, i can’t really think of anything else this would need to be tagged as?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:22:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23779846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALittleBirdieToldMeASecret/pseuds/ALittleBirdieToldMeASecret
Summary: A “microfic”, as I have dubbed it (written more like a synopsis with Style™️), about what-ifs and Trauma.Papyrus actually quite likes living in the Ruins.  And Toriel and Flowey are much better off for it.  But is Sans?
Relationships: Flowey & Papyrus (Undertale), Papyrus & Sans (Undertale), Papyrus & Toriel (Undertale)
Series: Undertale Shorts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676344
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	My Mother’s Eyes

Papyrus is struggling to control his time space manipulating abilities and accidentally winds up short cutting from the labs all the way to Snowdin, where he wanders around lost and confused until he eventually finds a large, mysterious door. He sits outside of it and waits because he doesn’t know what else to do and starts singing out of boredom, as children tend to, until he eventually hears an unfamiliar voice.

They ask him what he’s doing, who he is, and he tells them his name and that he’s very cold (it’s been hours at this point), and in a fit of panicked worry, the stranger lets him in.His clothes are soaked as the snow melts, so the kind stranger uses fabric from an old tattered tunic to redress him in something warmer, only to find the majority of his body covered in bandages.She removes one from his arm to find heavy discoloration, bruises, hints of dried marrow and magic that had seeped out since healing and several fault lines from healed cracks and gouges.

Horrified, she asks him who hurt him like this, and he explains he’s not hurt, that his father does it to make him stronger and more stable.She quickly realizes who his father is and comes to the conclusion it is unsafe for him to return, and instead elects to keep him in the ruins.

Gaster is confused, at a loss, and very upset that his son and half of his most important project is missing.Along with Sans and the followers, he continues searching for Papyrus, even as he slowly loses his mind over the years and inevitably [REDACTED].

Due to the soul bond he shares with his brother, Sans knows Papyrus is alive, and that he feels close whenever he’s in Snowdin, but he never tells Gaster, hoping that wherever Papyrus is, he’s safe and happy, and that he could return if he wasn’t.

Sans is an older teen by the time Gaster is finally gone, and decides it’s safe to look for his brother.His search leads him to a large, mysterious door in Snowdin Forest, and being at a loss for what to do, he knocks.And begins telling knock knock jokes (something he used to do whenever he’d come to get Papyrus from his room when they were kids).After a while of nothing, he’s losing hope until-

“Who’s there?”

A painfully familiar font, and he’s excited and scared and so so so happy, and after he finishes the undoubtedly terrible joke, Papyrus clips through the door and pulls him into a tight embrace.He’s tall!They’re almost the same height!His eye lights are brilliantly white!!And his bones are, they’re so smooth and unmarred and- and he’s happy...

But before they can properly reconnect, Papyrus pulls him back through the door, explaining it’s important that no monsters know they’re there, and then they talk.They both talk about what happened, and their lives, and Toriel and Gaster and- Gaster...yeah.Gaster’s gone.And they both sit in silence for a little, but soon enough, Papyrus is smiling again, talking about Toriel and Napstablook and Flowey.

But unfortunately, Toriel is having a bad week, and Papyrus doesn’t want to upset or distress her, however he insists Sans returns for visits, and one day he’ll even be able to introduce them! And so he does. Sans comes and sits and tells bad jokes and talks about life every week, and Papyrus loves hearing about the Underground (Sans does not tell him how bad things are. He doesn’t need to know how many were dusted in Snowdin alone this week. He doesn’t.)

And eventually, Papyrus tells Sans Toriel is doing well, and that she has decided to join them for a conversation.Eventually, she even recurringly joins them, sitting and talking and Sans even comes in once or twice, for tea and pie, (and he doesn’t tell her how bad things have gotten since she left, she deals with enough, she doesn’t need to know it’s worse.She doesn’t.)

Years go by.Sans becomes a sentry for the guard, at Papyrus’s encouragement.They let him inside more.He starts to understand Toriel and how her good days and bad days are.He learns the bruises and cracks Papyrus has sometimes aren’t from her and he stops worrying.The monsters in the ruins can get scared very easily, but Papyrus can always get through to them.And he knows now.The Underground will never be safe for him.He’s too good for them, he trusts too much, has too much faith.It’s okay to be like this.It’s better like this.The Underground will keep getting worse but Toriel and Papyrus will stay safe.This is for the best.

Until one day Sans doesn’t come.

He doesn’t come for two weeks.Three weeks.Papyrus tries not to worry, but Toriel is struggling between comforting him and immediately accepting that he’s dead.Four weeks.Five weeks.Flowey offers to go out and look for him, but the next day, there’s a knock.And a bad joke.

Sans tries to push it under the rug, but he won’t come inside.Papyrus loses his patience and storms out, and it’s as Toriel warned.Several cracks spiderwebbed across the back of his skull and a gold tooth replacing one of his own.He looks tired, too tired, and his clothes hang loose, too loose.

Papyrus pulls him inside and hugs him fiercely, attempting to heal more of the damage, but it’s already been healed and oh stars how bad it must have been when it happened.And after pie and tea and a warm blanket for his shoulders, Papyrus paces around the room, Toriel sits in silence, Flowey avoids looking anywhere but the floor, and Sans knows it was wrong to stay away for so long but he didn’t want them to see it at its worst.But he could have never expected what came next.

“I’m going to come live with you in Snowdin.”

It’s not safe to live alone in a place like the Underground.Especially not for a monster with 1 hp.He’s young, and strong, and he can help his brother, he’s determined to take care of Sans.He’s talked to Toriel and Flowey about it and they agree he’s old enough to decide for himself, but they’ve also had some very sobering talks about the underground, and what he should expect.But Sans refuses.

No.Papyrus is his little brother, he’s not about to let the fowl hands of the Underground snap his neck, but oh Papyrus is not pleased with being underestimated.

Does he believe Toriel never taught him how to fight?Does he believe he doesn’t remember Gaster created them to be weapons?Does he believe he hasn’t a clue how dreadful things are in the Underground when he sees the affect it’s had on the monsters who find refuge in the Ruins?

After a very long, very difficult argument, it’s settled.Papyrus will live with Sans for a month.And if anything bad even comes close to happening, he will return to the Ruins, no debate.They also agree to continue visiting Toriel, but only as frequently as she can manage.

After a day to prepare, Sans returns and leads Papyrus back to his house- their house in Snowdin.He tidied, to the best of his abilities.The house wasn’t exactly full of stuff to begin with so it was easy enough.He offers the room upstairs and- is that a...race car bed?For children?It was all he could find at the dump on short notice, but Papyrus appreciates the effort, even if his feet hang over the end a bit.

A month turns into two, two turn into six.It’s not terribly easy, but it gets easier, and to his credit, Papyrus is deceitfully cunning.He works simple jobs, delivering stock to Grillby, cleaning the rooms at the Inn, even, surprisingly, babysitting.And he always keeps out of trouble, almost like he has a sixth sense for it.A year passes like this was always how it was meant to be.

But everything goes south when a LV crazed monster escapes the Waterfall guard and tears off toward Snowdin.Three dusted already, it takes too long for word to get out to Sans at his station, and by the time it does, even two shortcuts don’t seem fast enough.

The sight of Papyrus standing alone in the main street of Snowdin, shoulders slack as he breathes heavily, dust in the air catching the flickering red and purple light of his right eye, casting dark shadows over the magic and marrow draining from the cracks over his other, will forever be etched into Sans’s memory.

A week passes.

“I’m going to join the guard.”

The crack had been healed as much as it ever would be, but it left two scars trailing through his socket.

“okay.”

Papyrus is strong.He’s incredibly smart.His uncanny ability to create both traumatizing and clever puzzles would be a great service to the guard.He knows he can’t talk him out of it.

Sans falls asleep at his station, he misses the guard trials, misses Undyne making Papyrus her Lieutenant right out of the gate, but he’s not surprised.He’s proud, they celebrate by begrudgingly going to Grillby’s, but when they go home Papyrus makes them tea and he smiles at him with that crystal clear white eye light and it’s wrong.There should be two there.It makes him nauseous and he tries not to think about it as Papyrus puts on the newest MTT special.Papyrus loves MTT, he says he wants boots just like his (even though he doesn’t wear boots because he doesn’t have legs).

Something bad happened, and he wants to tell Papyrus he has to keep his word.Has to go back to the Ruins.Should have two months ago.But the way he sits with his feet under him on their couch, in _their_ living room, and the way he asks him for his opinion on who the killer is while he sips the tea he made for them, _both of them_ , and that unwavering glint in his eye that somehow seems to even extend into the now vacant socket that says he already knows tells him it’s not worth the argument.

Papyrus is his brother and this is his home now, too.Sans is his brother and this is their home now.And it would take a lot more than a little LV to cancel out the never ending vortex of love that is his brother.

And they’re okay with it.This is okay.While they may never see the surface, as long as they have each other, that didn’t matter.It would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Wanna know more?  
> [I have a writing tumblr!](https://talesofdivergence.tumblr.com/tagged/my+mothers+eyes)  
> I put my ponderings and world building there! And all are welcome to drop an ask!


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